Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's back to shakes I go!

I thought I was done with shakes when I started my mushy food on Monday.  I just couldn't get all the protein in with the food alone.  By Wednesday, I was feeling a little weak.  I bit the bullet and made shakes yesterday and today and I feel much better.  I have been mixing strawberry cheesecake light and fit yogurt with a scoop of Pure Protein Frosty Chocolate and adding some water and a little fat free half and half which gives me about 37 grams, then I don't have to worry so much and can get the rest in with food. Hopefully when I am better at eating and it doesn't take me forever to eat an ounce of food, I can give up the shakes for good!

I have a cook book of 400 calorie meals that I was going through trying to get ideas.  The portion sizes are just too large.

Megan - I'm 10 months out and still do 1 shake per day.  I'm just now getting to the point where I can probably give it up...but I like it!  

As for portion sizes being too large, make things that will refrigerate or freeze well and just look at it as lunches and dinners for a couple days.  These days I'm disappointed if there aren't leftovers from dinner that I can take the next day :-)  

I'm six months out and I still need a shake some days.

Some people have an easier time around this time, but all of our sleeves are different. I would personally rather not have to have shakes at all, but I am pretty sure I have a smaller sleeve than some. I've read about others who are out as far as I am that can eat 3 oz  or even more of dense protein in a meal. No matter how slow I eat I typically cannot get in more than 1.5 oz in a meal. Sometimes after only an ounce I know that if I take another bite I'll regret it, so stop there.

I'm five weeks out today and I'm still having one shake a day since I don't have the capacity to eat 3 ounces of protein at every meal yet. So I have a shake and three meals. I also put miralax, collagen, and benefiber in my shakes, so they're useful for other reasons!

I am just over ten months from surgery - and still have a protein shake every morning. This allows me to have breakfast "on the go", and ensures that I get ALL my protein in each day.

Basically, my doc said that I should get a majority of my protein from actual food. So my shake gets me 22 g of protein, and I try for 60 more from food.

You'll get there. :)